my newest project - not a Civic, but cool nonetheless

[hey_mikey]

this is my newest work project - restoration of a 1962 Corvette. I know it's not a Civic, so if this is in the wrong section, the mods are free to move it. It's all original, with matching frame and engine. not running at the moment, but was supposedly running with less than 1000mi on a rebuild before it was parked several years ago. I'm working alone on this, so it'll be a slow process. because of the holidays and family visiting, I really haven't gotten many hours in at work since I started this a week ago, but I'll be sure to snap more photos to share as I go along.

right now i'm in the process of getting everything between the body and frame disconnected/removed prior to lifting the body off of the frame. If anyone has any experience with these cars, i'm sure i'll have some questions in the near future.

The (mostly complete) car


Stock 327 (250hp version) with four barrel carb


Starting to pull the trim and disconnect everything

 

[KennyGS]

There are a great group of guys at digitalcorvettes.com that I know can help you through the entire process.

I am so jealous, and can't wait to see the completed work. My one friend has a '61.

 

[Dragos]

That is one of the greatest looking cars ever in my opinion, great choice for a project

 

[webby]

excellent stuff! Subscribing to see the progression. I know some individuals who are collectors and individuals who have done a lot of corvette restorations.









if you are in need of any info, or help finding parts etc... I know some individuals who would be a great resource for vettes. Just ask.

 

[hey_mikey]

There are a great group of guys at digitalcorvettes.com that I know can help you through the entire process.

I am so jealous, and can't wait to see the completed work. My one friend has a '61.

Thanks for the tip! I joined corvetteforum.com as well, and they seem to be pretty active and knowledgeable over there as well. With school and other stuff going on at work, it's definitely not going to be a quick restoration, but I'm gonna do my best to do this car justice.

That is one of the greatest looking cars ever in my opinion, great choice for a project

It's definitely a great looking car. It'll look even better when it's done, but it'll be a while until then.

excellent stuff! Subscribing to see the progression. I know some individuals who are collectors and individuals who have done a lot of corvette restorations.

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if you are in need of any info, or help finding parts etc... I know some individuals who would be a great resource for vettes. Just ask.

Thanks for the info. I'm positive I'll need some help as I go along, so I'll definitely keep this thread updated. I love the sting ray body style, and those you posted look immaculate. I think the owner would be happy if we can get this car looking even half as good as those.

 

[MrsJrotax101]

I'm definitely in for updates! Are you going to keep it that color?

 

[hey_mikey]

More pictures! I try to take as many photos as I can remember to. So far, I've pulled off all the trim pieces and bumpers forward of the firewall. Also started tearing down the interior.

The chrome strips on top of the fenders...Top is from passenger side, bottom is from driver side. I think one of these is original, and the other isn't.

The body seems to have lots of small cracks. I'm not experienced with fiberglass, but does anyone with fiberglass expertise know if this is normal? The paint also shows cracking at seams between panels, but the fiberglass beneath seems solid. Again, is this normal? Does this affect the structural integrity at all? I just want to be sure it's safe to lift the body like this.

Got the top removed

The lid for the top has cracked as well. Since it's going out for paint and body work, I figured I'd leave such repairs to the shop.

driver's door before pulling.

in progress

instrument panel off. took the assist bar and cove trim off, too.

that's all for now. I'll hopefully have more to post up next week.

 

[JaydiemTRAN]

Now that's a serious project! Restoring American Classic cars! Keep up the good work, it looks great so far. Can't wait to see it finished!

 

[hotdogjohnny]

It's got great bones, nice floor pans. And the dash section is real good for its age. A huge plus.

 

[hey_mikey]

This is where I'm at so far:
- trunk is completely stripped down
- got the windshield off and the interior is pretty much bare. steering column is out (didn't take pics after I removed it)
- need to drain the brake master so i can pull the pedals
- need to build a body dolly so I can start lifting the body off the frame. there's only a couple more things to do before i can start the lift.
- do any of you know if there is a way to tell what the original color combination (interior/exterior) was?

can't wait to get the body off. once it's, off we'll decide where to send it for body work and paint. i'm gonna do the chassis restoration myself in our shop. i just wish we had a two post lift!

 

[webby]

according to this site, the 62 did not have a paint code plate
http://www.oldride.com/library/1962_chevrolet_corvette.html

NOTES: General Motors paint code plate for all models except Corvair and Corvette is located under the hood at the top of the firewall on the left or right of the upper shroud. Corvair paint code plate is on the left rear wheel housing. Corvette paint code plate is not shown on car.

An interesting fact about C1's is that they don't have any kind of trim tag that tells what the original paint color was. However, some cars had the color they were supposed to be painted written in grease pencil behind the seats. Unless you are lucky enough to have the dealer invoice, checking for the grease pencil marking is about the only way to determine if your C1 is the original color.

 

[hey_mikey]

No grease pencil mark behind the seats, so i guess we're SOL on the original color.

In other news, I got the body dolly built. Now I just need to figure out how i'm gonna lift the body off the frame.

 

[webby]

you have access to a lift or a hoist... this person made due with a hoist.

 

[Dar-Dar]

I can't wait for more!

 

[Dragos]

I just have to say this is a very cool thread!

 

[KennyGS]

 

[KennyGS]

you have access to a lift or a hoist... this person made due with a hoist.

Here is the thread from that ^ guy.> http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112313

He actually posted a more novel way to do it...

Back when I originally pulled the body off my 71 Coupe to start my frame off restoration I decided to use an engine hoist. Well, I quickly realized what a pain it was and vowed I would do something different when it came time to reinstall the body.

Well, a few weekends ago I needed to get to the underside of the body to do some work and, since that wasn't possible with the body on the body dolly, I decided now was as good a time as any to construct a lifting rack. After some consideration I developed a set of plans for a lifting frame and went to work building it. Here's what I came up with, my total investment less than $100 including the 2 cheap chain hoists I bought off E-bay and about 2 hours to build the frame.

I really wanted to build a rack that allowed good maneuverability of the body so I ended up using a two chain-hoist system. I figure this will also provide better support for the front clip compared to a single hoist system.

Here's the body suspended from the lifting frame (without the front clip obviously). The position of the chain hoists is adjustable to allow you to balance the load as required. Here I've got the body lifted at an angle to allow access to the underside of the body.

I'm still a ways from actually putting the body back on the chassis, but I think this lifting frame will work pretty well. The clearance form one side of the rack to the next is 10 feet so there will be plenty of room to manuever the chassis into place beneath the body.

I figure some others might find the plans useful so I've made a copy of the plans available for download on my website at http://www.corvette-restoration.com/...y_painting.htm.

Happy lifting!
Tim

 

[hey_mikey]

I don't have a hoist or a lift, but we do have forklifts in the warehouse. I was gonna rig some straps up and try using that. We'll see.

 

[hey_mikey]

We've been busy at work so I haven't been able to pull the body off the frame yet. In the meantime, I've started cleaning up all the small stuff to get the body ready to go off to the body shop.

Amazing what you can do with a wire wheel and drill. I'd prefer an angle grinder and bench grinder, but my boss has been occupied with other tasks. Hopefully I'll have one by next week so I can work a lil faster.

Making progress, but it feels glacially slow.

Before:


After:


Side by side:

 

[webby]

night and day! You should take some video if you do the body off with a forklift. Have someone record it!